Family

It’s amazing how complicated life gets sometimes. It seems so wonderfully simple when people see you in the grocery store, they say hello, smile at your kids, you both agree the summer is going to quickly and the kids are growing so fast, and you move on… but when you own a business, things are never quite a simple as they seem. LOL!

Case in point: I had been talking back and forth with a bride, answering questions about wedding pricing and she had told me I would be the photographer for their wedding. She was excited and so was I. A few weeks later, I get a call from a wonderful family friend, Jordan…

Jordan is a girl I took senior portraits for back when I was just getting started doing photography full-time. She loved her photos, we ended up doing a “cousins” family photoshoot, then I photographed one of those cousins the next year for her senior portraits as well. After all that, I asked this same gal to babysit my oldest son for me when he was born (I was pregnant when she was graduating and she seemed so genuinely excited and interested I knew I could trust her with my new precious baby boy.) She was beyond amazing. She brought him back to her mom & dad’s house and was never impatient to get him back to me even though I worried he must be getting in the way of her social life. She didn’t feel that way at all, in fact, her and her mom took him all over the place to eat out for lunch with the rest of their extended family, go on little shopping trips and all sorts of other interesting adventures. He (and I) inadvertently became “adopted” members of their extended family and we often celebrated birthdays, holidays and just regular old Sunday afternoons with them. I also ended up photographing her older sister’s son’s newborn portraits a few years back. Needless to say, we are all very close.

… back to the phone call…

she’s asking me about wedding photography and the date has not been set, but she’s thinking about the same date as the other bride I’ve been talking to and who “unofficially” has booked me (AKA: no deposit has been given or contract signed). I beg her to pick one of the other dates but she warns me it’s pretty likely this will be the date because it also happens to be her parent’s anniversary! How can I argue with that?!

{It also just so happens to have another element of ginormous significance… it’s my BIRTHDAY!!! 😉 Hahaa!}

… When it all was said and done, that was the date, June 25th, so I had to debate whether or not I risk upsetting the other bride, possibly ruining my reputation and delicately retract my commitment to photograph her wedding, or risk missing one of the most exciting moments in one of my friend Jordan’s life… Oh, decisions!

Obviously, I knew I couldn’t miss out on Jordan’s wedding, even if I wasn’t photographing it. So, I picked up the phone and gave the unlucky bride a call. She was so amazingly gracious and I was so full of gratitude and relief that she still had plenty of time to find another photographer and not to worry. Happy dance time!

Fast forward to Engagement Pictures… which you can find HERE.

And now it’s time to share some from the BIG DAY!!! It was the most beautiful, rustic country wedding. Set at her parent’s home with all her closest family and friends in attendance. It was a nail-biter though! There was predictions of lots of rain but we only ended up with LOTS of wind, and no rain until later that night around 10pm when everyone was safely under the tent and a little too tipsy to care that their feet were getting all wet.

The wind did make portraits quite challenging. Think wispy hair and ties flying sideways… yeah… not cool. I just had to let go of some of the ideas I had to take pictures in other parts of the yard and stick to an area behind a couple of sheds to keep my subjects from looking like they were about to be swept away. But even with all that, we have a TON of amazing images to choose from for Jordan’s wedding album which I’m excited to start designing soon.

Don’t miss noticing the amazing bridal party flowers that were created by Flowers By Bree. She is a local, Kensett, IA florist that works out of her home and she has a God-given gift for coordinating colors and textures with flowers in the most amazing ways. She can take any bride’s vision/request and bring it into a spectacularly beautiful reality. (Was that enough adjectives for you??? Seriously, she is THAT good!)

As I wrap up 2015 I’m pleased to share this little hunk of sweet baby goodness with you. Isn’t he such a stud? I love his eyes!!! And all that hair!?

**Swoon**

His big sister was one of my past baby portrait clients so I was so happy to get this wonderful family back in the studio again.

Needless to say, it was a bit of a challenge to get big sister to sit still… at 3 years old, it’s just hard to behave sometimes! We just rolled with it and got some AMAZING family portraits and just a couple of the baby and older sister Eve together, that’s all their parents really wanted anyway. No need to push them too hard at that age so they might dread the thought of portraits in the future. Best to keep it easy and fun.

Abel wasn’t too sleepy, but he was content to just lay and gaze at me contently with those big, beautiful eyes of his. I did finally succeed in getting a few of him sleeping and those are just so angelic.

Happy Friday Everyone! I’m sad to see the beautiful fall foliage disappear off the trees, but today I get to re-live some of that amazing fall weather we were having a couple weeks ago. This family has been customers of mine for a while now and this year they decided to update their professional family portrait I had taken for them back when they’d first discovered me.

They are amazing and helped me find a great location to do their family portrait in the town where they live. I always like to take that responsibility on my shoulders, because my clients who are busy moms & dads don’t need one more thing on their to-do list. But, in the fall, every day the leaves are changing and what might have looked great Friday morning is a brown, bare tree come Saturday afternoon. Right?!

I love the outfits the Johnson family chose to wear. They just coordinate so well. I love jewel-tones and the rich peacock blue color just harmonizes so pleasantly with the rusty reds and golden tones of the leaves.

I am excited to meet with them and find out which ones they decide to use as wall art to decorate their lovely home. I know she’s used this color throughout her home-decor so the images are going to tie into that so nicely.

If you ever need help planning clothing for your session, I’d love to assist you so you can have portraits that truely become part of your home decor just like the Johnson family.

Enjoy!
BeccaP.S. These are going to make some AMAZING holiday greeting cards!!!

Like this:

This on-location family session was just down the road from my studio! It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and everyone had gathered for a little celebration.
The two sisters were going to be together with their husbands, grown children and all their spouses and grandchildren, so it just struck them as the perfect opportunity to get a family portrait captured.
Once your kids have grown and married we all know how hard it is to get everyone back together at the same time. I was so glad they decided to give me a call, and though it was a little short-notice, we were in luck and it just so happened to work out for me as well.
Normally though, if you want to schedule for a specific date, especially a weekend, it’s good to call at least a six weeks in advance.
We did lots of fun combinations of the smaller family groups and then the whole big clan. By the time we got done, the kids were really tired and ready for their naps. I have to admit, I was ready for one too!
Enjoy!
Rebecca

I’m excited to share some beautiful images from the Ebbing family’s portrait session. I recently had to head out to Sioux Falls to photograph my husband’s cousin’s son who is going to be a senior. They have a neighbor that had me take family portraits quite often when I’ve been out there in past years. When I sent her a message to say I’d be out there again, she was happy to take advantage of the opportunity to have me capture their family once again.
It’s been a few years since our last session.
Here’s a throwback portrait for you… aren’t they cute??!

Now, their youngest daughter isn’t a baby anymore! Both of their girls are so lovely, and it almost feels like I’m visiting relatives when I take their pictures too, because I’ve known and photographed them for so long.

I was just giddy with excitement when I sent the email to share the gallery of images with their mom, and I got this lovely email in return this morning…
“I love the pictures! I realized I was showing coworkers and friends and I never let you know that they turned out great. The pictures of Allison with Mike & Anna with me are amazing.
Thank you!”
I love getting those messages in my inbox on Monday morning. Such a perfect way to start the week!
Enjoy!
Rebecca

I’m excited to share a few great images from my most recent session with you. They are of the McNaughton family who has done several sessions with me over the last few years and it’s extra special because they come all the way from the Washington D.C. area! They are just THAT loyal! … Oh, and her parents live about an hour from my studio so they stop by there for a visit since they’re in the area. 😉

This time around, we have the little guy who is 2 years old, almost 3… and little miss who is 5 years old now. I laughed when I was taking these because for her 2 year old portraits, she was “challenging” my photo taking skills and her brother tried to follow suit, but in both cases I worked my magic and captured some of the family’s favorite portraits.

Carys now, after 5 years of working with me was amazing! Last session I was so impressed by her willing and eager attitude, but this time she just blew me away. I think she’s taken up watching America’s Next Top Model, judging from some of the poses this girl was giving me! Love her so!

Here’s a sampling of a few of my favorites. I really love the outdoor ones of Carys with the flowers and the family ones turned out great too!

This is one of my most loyal customers, and I have grown to love her and her children dearly! (Her hubs is pretty great too!) 😉
I’m always in for a treat when she calls to book her session… we’ve photographed her kids with baby chicks, and balloons, and their favorite things… well, this time we did an update of their favorite things and … wait for it… (pause for effect)… Fainting Goats!!! How fun is that???
Check out all these great pictures. Taking the time to plan something with your photographer that is unique to your family makes for much more meaningful family portraits = better memories!
Enjoy,
Rebecca